The South western news., 1887-11-09
ARE THERE WILD HORSES7
A Writer Gives Some Very Inter
esting Information on the
Subject.

AT recent meeting of the
Bombay Natural Historical Socie>
ty, a paper was read b. j III Steele
on the subject of "Wild Horses
from which the following is taken:
us there such thing as a wild
horse, an aboriginal or truly wild
horse in the world now? The
answer is more than doubtful.
The mustang of Mexico, the wild
horse of the South American PAM
pas, the brumbi of Australia, are
all descendants of the domesticated
animals introduced from Europe.
The first horse was landed in
America at Buenos Ayres in 1897.
In 1580-that is, in less than fifty
years-horses had spread to regions
as remote as Patagonia In Austral-
ia the diffusion OF horses that have
escaped from civilization has been
quite as rapid, and in 1875 it was
foand necessary to shoot as many
as 1000 wild horses in the colony
of New South Wales alone. In
some parts of Australia the horse
pest has received legislative uotice.
The wild horses tempt domestica-
ted horses to join them, and the
stations also invade the australian
horse runs and vitiate choice herds
i'll most annoying manner. They
recur to the ancestral manners in
a way that is always the same.
Eoch stallion, Mr.. Steele tells us,
has his following of mares, ranging
from a few up to forty or even
fifty, and these parties may be sep
crate or banded together into herds
Of considerable size, even, it is
said, 400 strong. The young and
the weak males remain with a scan
ty or even no following. The stallion
has to maintain his supremacy by
frequent combats, which especially
occur at certain seasons of the
year. The animals are suspicious
in the extreme, swift in flight, but
bold 10 defense with tooth and
heel in emergency. They range
extensively in search of pasture
and water, and when hard press
ed by danger and famine the herds
break up. 1t is said that each
troop has leader and implicitly
obeys him. He is the first to face
danger and give the hint to fly,
When pressed the horses form a
ring, with the mares and foals in
the centre, and defend themselves
vigorously with their heels, or
they close in on their opponent in
dense masses and trample him to
death. 1t is distinctly proved,
then, that there can be no aborig-
inal orwild horse in either Anne RIGA
or Austl ailia, although there are
tens of thousands of unowned hor-
SEES. Tradition points to Central
Asia as the aboriginal abode of the
horse, and there the original stock
OF wilo horses may still possibly
exist. Darwin $ statement that
no aboriginal or truly wild horse
Is known to exist must still be
held as explaining the exact position
this question; but, says Mr.. Steele,
we must supplement- 1t by stating
that it is not certain that truly
wild horses do not exist and, on
the whole, Mr.. Steele concludes
that the evidence is in favor of the
existence of the wild horse in Cen.
trail Asia. but that we have no
evidence as to his pedigree in rela-
tion to domestication. The wild
horse of the British islands is now
practically the Shetland pony, but
he is not the powerful animal de-
scribed by Cesar. The domesticated
animal everywhere, however, re.
verts very easily to the savage
state, and of the wild horse, so
considered, Mr.. Steele has much to
tell US. His PAGES are a walk and
gallop, The double and the cen
ire are artificial, and it is still
mooted question as to whether the
wild horse ever trots.